​For those of you who have been a part of the Acting Academy for Kids family or are new to our programs, I wanted to take this opportunity and share an update on two fronts: First, my family’s battle against cancer and second, our search for our “forever home”.

ZYGO FAMILY UPDATEAs some of you may know, I celebrated my birthday this past week. Yay for another trip around the sun! It would be a great gift to me if you would take a moment to simply share our story with your networks ~ we are working hard to try to raise the funding for the only potentially life-saving treatment we’ve come across for my wife’s cancer. It is cost-prohibitive and fully out of pocket as Maggie’s cancer is not curable with radiation or chemotherapy. We filmed this video in hopes of getting our story told more widely to boost crowdfunding potential...

With the devastation that has hit so many families with the Vegas shooting, the hurricanes, the wildfires, the earthquakes and more, I know you may be tapped out, but this cancer has a 10-year median life expectancy and I really want my baby boys to have their mother as they grow up. She's literally fighting for her life. Thank you for caring and sharing and thanks again for the love on my birthday!

“FOREVER HOME” EVAPORATESLast March we made a historical leap of faith to start our very own youth theater in San Clemente. Our plan was to take a restaurant that has sat vacant for over a decade and transform it into a beautiful state-of-the-art facility for the theatrical community. We worked with dozens of contractors, the City Planning Department, local businesses and the Holiday Inn Express Hotel ownership to make this come to fruition. After we were crossing the finish line with our lease, the ownership of the Hotel pulled the plug. They agreed to allow us to use the space for rehearsals until December 31st. After spending tens of thousands of dollars on advertising, cleaning, moving, organizing and calling in every favor for a fundraising gala for this expansion, (not to mention, this has been my dream for over a decade), the walls have come tumbling down around us. The silver lining in all of this is all of our amazing relationships in the community with various schools, community theaters and non-profit organizations. We will continue to be one of the most effective and transformative educational performing arts programs in the OC, however, we are in need of a “forever home”. So here’s what we need and we are desperately praying that our AA4K family network will yield beyond our wildest imaginations:

1. We have to move all of our costumes, props, sets, etc., and we are in need of storage. If you or anyone in your network has a connection to a local storage facility or your garage may be lonely, we could use your help!

2. We have to organize the move and we are hoping over the Holiday break you may be able to lend a couple of Holiday hours to help us move. Many hands make light work and we’re going to need as many willing hands as we can find!

3. If you could ask around at Churches, private schools, businesses, warehouses, anything really where we could potentially pursue to find a safe and kid-friendly space to host Acting Academy, that would be tremendous.

4. Last, PLEASE forward this to anyone and everyone in your network because we are in need of your help.

Thank you for taking your time to read this update and helping us both professionally and personally. You have been our heartbeat for the last 9+ years and we are forever grateful and thankful for your belief in Acting Academy for Kids!